By Ken Smith
Turnagain Times
The Girdwood Board of Supervisors took out the knife and made some painful cuts in the 2010 budget. Non-profit organizations especially felt the pain of the cuts with some cuts more than 50 percent of the requested amount.
The general budget also was cut by 5 percent. The budget is divided into three separate budgets: Roads, Parks and Recreation and the Girdwood Fire Department.
The board first addressed the budget requests of local non-profit organizations. Each individual board member submitted a recommended amount for each grant. An average was then used to determine the approved grant funding.
Before the board voted on the non-profit grants, GBOS member Russ Stahla received an emergency call from work and had to leave the meeting, leaving four board members to vote.
Challenge Alaska was first on the list requesting $10,000. The board approved $3,500.
Four Valleys Community School was next. The board approved $20,750 out of a requested amount of $21,000.
Girdwood Fine Arts Camp was approved for $2,750 on a request for $6,000.
KEUL radio requested $7,000. The board approved $3,250.
The Girdwood Nordic Ski Club requested $25,000, and the board approved $12,250.
Glacier Valley Ski Education Foundation, Alyeska Ski Club was approved for $6,250, following a request for $10,000.
Little Bears Playhouse received $6,000 with a funding request of $10,000.
The total amount of non-profit grants awarded was $54,750. The grant total approved was included in the Parks and Recreation budget and passed unanimously. Last year's non-profit grant awards totaled $63,000, and the year before the total was $69,000.
The cuts in grants rankled some in the public with one citizen asking the board what was the justification for lowering the grants?
“I don't really understand why the boards decreasing so much of the grants for groups that give back to the community,” the citizen asked.
“We have a score sheet, there's a whole packet that we get that makes a non-profit grant and how it fits in there,” board member Erin Eker said. “I spent many hours looking at this as well, I think all of them except Four Valleys were requesting quite a bit more than last year.”
“I don't think we are a poor community and we're enriched by these organizations,” said board member John Gallup. “I think some of these organizations will have to do a some more fundraising.”
“We all considered these in great depth and we value the organizations services to the community.” added board member Brian Epley.
“We had a $65,000 budget last year and you guys just cut 15 percent from it. What for?” asked Jerry Reichlin, sitting in the audience.
“This program was set up specifically for the Girdwood Community Schools,” said board member Jake Thompson. “Now we have more grant applicants, and as time goes on we're going to get more non-profits applying.”
“Is there less money coming in this year that would require us setting aside money?” asked Reichlin. “Do you expect the property taxes to come down because of a 15 percent cut?”
“Jerry, you can run for the board,” suggested Thompson.
“Is that my only alternative, can't we discuss it,” responded Reichlin. “You just cut 15 percent. Why?” Reichlin responded.
“Because property owners don't want to pay higher taxes,” answered Thompson. “I as a property owner would rather give more than have it taken out of my property taxes.”
“Any organizations that feel I have shortchanged them, I will personally help them fundraise to make up the difference,” said Gallup.
“I just want to thank the board for cutting the budgets at these times,” said audience member Janice Crocker. Her comment was followed by a handful of support of other audience members.
Next the board addressed the 2010 budget.
“Tonight is the budget discussion but this is the final one,” Thompson said.
Before the board voted on the roads budget, which includes roads maintenance and operations, the board realized the numbers didn't add up. It was listed at $736,470, but finally resolved to be a total of $738,470.
Last year's roads budget was $787,570, of which $80,000 was added by the Anchorage Assembly. The original request was $707,570.
Thompson answered an audience member's question about the size of the roads budget and the increase in the total amount from years past.
“What has happened in the past, we've put off maintenance and drainage work on our roads,” Thompson explained. “This year we did a lot of that work. We've added a 100 ton of wrap on the roads. The bottom line is that the roads in Girdwood are always going to have pot holes in them.”
“It would be unusual for us to use the entire roads budget,” said Gallup. “The rest goes into the funds balance to cover an emergency. We almost never use the entire roads budget in any given year.”
Thompson then took a moment to publicly thank Girdwood resident Paul Ingram for personally fixing all the culverts on Cortina Road.
When talk continued on the roads budget former GBOS member and roads supervisor Jim Henderson addressed the board stating that “It needs to be made clear that the roads budget is actually an operations and maintenance part of the budget.”
“What I have heard from the public is that the roads need maintenance and that's why the roads budget is more than previous years,” said Thompson.
“Right now the roads are in the best shape since I lived here,” Gallup said.
A question was raised by an audience member about Girdwood resident Nick Danger's position, who was hired this year as roads manager and as an emergency responder with the Girdwood Fire Department.
He is paid $48,000 out of the roads budget, Thompson said, even though his job duties include work for the Fire Department (fire and rescue responder), roads work, and community room maintenance.
A motion was made on the roads budget for the amount of $738,470, and it passed unanimously.
Fire Service Area budget was addressed next.
The proposed budget was $558,593. Last year's budget was $572,970. The board briefly discussed it and then passed the budget unanimously.
Parks and Recreation was last with a budget proposal of $122,150. Last year the budget was $131,600.
Parks and Recreation board supervisor John Gallup said they turned in a budget that is actually 7 percent in cuts.
Gallup mentioned that the Girdwood skate park cost about $90,000 this year for upgrades and new ramps, $10,000 actually came out of the 2009 budget, the rest of the money was raised, he said.
Discussion on the line item in the budget for weed pulling for $8,000 followed. Gallup said it's necessary to keep weeds under control in the valley, but Thompson said it's a waste of money.
“I think John sat down in good faith to cut the budget,” said Epley. “The weeding I'm naïve on, I don't know what to say about that,” Epley said.
“For me to rubber stamp this as a whole, any one of the budgets, I think it's my responsibility to look closely at them,” Thompson said, responding to an audience members assertion that the budget should be left up to the supervisor in charge and that the board should trust his decision.
“No, I don't want to micromanage,” Thompson told the audience member. “I think John and Johnnie (Lazarus, Parks and Recreation Director) do a good job…but I have to micromanage and follow my conscience.”
Thompson added that he didn't like $6,000 being appropriated for a connex to store items at the ball field.
“I think we could get it for free,” he said, “and I don't like the weed pulling in it.”
A motion was made to approve the core budget (not including the non-profit grants, approved earlier) of $122,650 with $500 added to the Porta Potti line item, increasing it to $3,400.
The motion passed 3-1 with Thompson voting against it. The budget next goes to the Anchorage Assembly for approval.
